2 tech firms creating scores of new jobs in Orlando

June 18, 2014|By Richard Burnett, Orlando Sentinel

Boosted by state and local incentive deals, two information technology companies — PowerDMS Inc. and NAVIS Inc. — plan to add scores of new jobs in Orlando over the next several years, officials for the companies and Orlando's economic development agency said this week.

Orlando-based PowerDMS Inc., a developer of cloud-based secure document management systems, plans to add 65 jobs through 2017 — more than doubling its current staff, the company said. Average annual salaries pay nearly $85,000, or 200 percent of Orange County's average wage.

The company, which will spend $400,000 in the expansion, said it chose Orlando over locations in Texas, New York and California. It has been approved for $780,000 in state and local job-creation tax breaks.

"We're eager to expand our operations right here at home in Orlando," founder Josh Brown said in a statement.

PowerDMS said it is at full capacity at its current site on Robinson Street and is looking for an expanded location in downtown Orlando, including sites such as the new tech hub at Church Street Exchange.

Oregon-based NAVIS Inc., a provider of vacation reservation sales and marketing software, will create 67 jobs through 2017, according to the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission. Workers will earn an average of nearly $50,000 a year.

NAVIS was approved for $335,000 in state and local incentives through the Qualified Targeted Industry program, the agency said.

NAVIS plans to spend nearly $405,000 in establishing its regional headquarters in south Orlando. The office will serve U.S. customers on the East Coast as well as international customers.

"Florida's IT sector continues to grow and positively impact the state's economy thanks to companies like NAVIS," said Gray Swoope, president of Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development arm.